The Heat Is Gone

Jordan, Bulls Reach Finals, End Miami's Unlikely Run

CHICAGO - — After seven months of surpassing expectations and defying odds, the Heat's season was laid to rest Wednesday night by one of the NBA's most predictable forces: a riled-up Michael Jordan.

No, Jordan wasn't perfect, but he set enough of a tone with 28 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 100-87 victory over the Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals at the United Center.

"It was tough for us, obviously, as a team that had a lot of hopes, dreams - and then you run into the Chicago Bulls and reality hits," coach Pat Riley said. "We had a great year. We've done some great things."

While Jordan's 11-of-31 inaccuracy from the field and the injury absence of Scottie Pippen after the midpoint of the first quarter gave the Heat hope of extending the best-of-7 playoff, a lack of timely conversions ended the series at 4-1.

"We just ran into a team that, obviously, at crunch time, they were not going to be denied," Riley said. "We've had a great year. We're going to try to celebrate what we've done in our little corner of the world."

A leader until the end, point guard Tim Hardaway paced the Heat with 27 points, putting to rest his hometown playoff nightmare last season against Chicago.

"We'll learn from this," Hardaway said. "We just didn't get the job done."

By contrast, the questions continue for center Alonzo Mournng, who closed with 13 points, his lone basket a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds to play.

"After ending it like this, it leaves an empty feeling inside," he said. "They doubled me a lot, but that doesn't excuse my play."

Said Riley, "We just never got into a rhythm to get it to him."

While Jordan was shaky from the field, Mourning was all but invisible, limited to 1-of-4 shooting with seven turnovers. Forward Jamal Mashburn filled some of the void with 22 points, but the Heat couldn't make the shots it needed to dent Chicago's early lead.

Although this season ended the same way as the last, with a lopsided playoff series against the Bulls, it was like none of the Heat's previous eight seasons.

With a 61-21 regular season, its first Atlantic Division championship and playoff ousters of the Magic and Knicks, the Heat erased a legacy of losing.

"We realize we can accomplish even more," Mourning said.

Before this season, the Heat never had won more than 42 games or a playoff series. When Riley took over after the 1994-95 season, the Heat had gone 32-50 and was fading fast.

But entering Wednesday night, the Heat had staved off elimination five times this postseason, extending its season nearly a month beyond any of its previous eight.

Still, after becoming only the sixth team in NBA history to recover from a 3-1 playoff deficit in the conference semifinals against New York, the Heat couldn't become the first team to recover from a 3-0 deficit.

The Heat set playoff records for fewest points, shots, conversions and assists in a five-game series. The Heat needed to score 116 to avoid the lowest scoring total, 421 by Orlando in the first round. Its average of 78.6 was the lowest for any postseason series.

Wednesday night, Chicago overcame its share of adversity, going the final 31/2 quarters without Pippen, who left for good with 5:12 to play in the first quarter with a sprained left foot. Pippen warmed up at halftime and said he could have played if needed, but Bulls management decided otherwise.

The Heat also was shorthanded in the first half, but it wasn't because of injury. Mourning, the lightning rod for much of the Bulls' aggression because of his Game 4 tussle with eccentric power forward Dennis Rodman, did not score until he converted a free throw with 5:28 to play in the second period.